Wednesday, May 26, 2010

A word about Rejection.



I was reading a nice little blog post on Rants & Ramblings about a literary agents thoughts on rejection letters. It was very insightful and I wanted to add a footnote to the thought.

Rejection is part of the writing process and should not be looked at as a personal affront. Time is a very valuable commodity to agents and to authors. I had my place in line and if my work is not what that particular agent was looking for then I'll thank them and move on. A form letter is fine and I appreciate it when they get back to me right away.

As an author I'm delighted an agent/publisher will take the time to read my query. I've received a pile of rejections over the years, some form letters and some with constructive feedback, but all of them together served to make my presentation better. As a result, and with perseverance, I'm happy to say I've also received acceptance letters.

In a nutshell- Think of yourself as a quart of Rocky Road ice cream. Hour after hour people open the freezer and take out a quart of Vanilla but never mention why. The excitement is knowing one day the freezer door will open and someone's going to be in the mood for Rocky Road. Make sure when that day comes you're the best ice cream they ever tasted.

I've said this before, but there's a reason Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors.

Photo courtesy Photos8.com